When this blog went on hiatus, I held out the thought that a couple late-arriving pieces might still hit the in-box. In reality, Bill got me these a few weeks back, but I’ve been distracted and haven’t paid due courtesy by posting his thoughts up here. So, our first TS5Q Lagniappe, of which there may be more. As with this concept, generally, there’s always hope.
One. Which of the seven deadliest sins make for the best art?
In this order: Envy, Lust, Gluttony, Wrath, Sloth, Greed, Pride. At least for today.

Two. For what are you going to need a little more evidence?
That there’s no link between long fingernails and depression.

Three. For personal creativity (or productivity), are you better served by contentment or restlessness?
I’ve always assumed restlessness, but if think about it my favorite projects don’t usually come from a restless need to make something — they simply came from noticing one thing while I was doing something else. Then I took it and ran with it. So I guess my projects, once begun, are fueled and finished by restlessness. Although contentment doesn’t really get things done and restlessness can be very distracting.

Four. Likeliest occurrence within your lifetime: true peace, total war, or the arrival of spacemen/spacewomen?
You can always count on war. I’m not a pessimist, I’m a disappointed optimist, to paraphrase someone, although I can’t remember who.

Five. Select/discuss any one of the following options.
– Five-a: You lost it as a child and you want it back.
– Five-b: You are concerned about your food and its origins.
– Five-c: These are your generation’s greatest successes.+ Five-d: For you, this is the book, play, recording, painting, poem, scripture or (item X) that made all the difference.
– Five-e: Do you have a question for me? (What is it?)

Mid- to late 1980s Freestylin’ Magazine pretty much made all the difference. Combine that with a Dead Kennedys’ “Give Me Convenience Or Give Me Death” cassette and you have my teenage mind shift. Somehow, some way, for some reason, the little local department store in Columbiana, Ohio had that album for sale. I bought it (to be honest I actually put a discounted price sticker on it so it was $2.99 instead of $7.99) and it reset my head forever. In fact, one day 10 years ago my wife Diane and I were at a country bar out by the Katy Trail and we got to talking to some bored teenager whose mom was working there. I gave him all the DK tapes I had in my car in the hopes they would get in his head too, and get him out of the small town he hated.